Rainy Night
by MapleKomori
Summary: Arthur misses having Alfred around. USUK one-shot.


Tonight was the fourth rainy night in a row. Between the cloudy days and stormy nights, Arthur hadn't see the sun in forever. Not that he missed it.

"Not that I miss anything at all," he said aloud, turning the picture frame around. He debated throwing the photo away. It wasn't like he wanted to see that loudmouth's goofy, bespectacled face every time he walked into his study.

Outside, the wind howled. Arthur shut the study door behind him, hoping to make the large room seem cozier. It was on nights like these that Arthur's mind tended to wander.

So many memories haunted him. Every drop of rain that fell made him think of all the wasted seconds. The little boy who admired his every action somehow grew into the young man who would rather face death than stay by his side. Whatever had gone wrong, it was always itchingly beyond Arthur's grasp.

"No," Arthur said to himself. He wouldn't let himself be swept up in these same old thoughts again. What happened after that world meeting was a one-time occurrence. He knew that he and Alfred could never find true love together. Not after what caused them to part ways in the first place. As Arthur paced through his study, his gaze landed on his bookshelf.

"Of course," he said. "Reading always helps me take my mind off my problems." He skimmed the titles. Love poems, more love poems, classic tales of romance... Arthur regretted letting Francis buy books for him. That's when he spotted a dusty tome of ancient philosophy. It held the promise of being wonderfully boring. It was exactly what Arthur needed; something unemotional and ultimately inconsequential. That and the falling rain might let him have a good night's sleep.

Lifting the heavy book from the shelf, Arthur blew the dust off it. A rather small amount of dust actually came off, but the action had a certain gravity to it that Arthur liked. When he sat down to read, a folded piece of paper fell out.

Arthur unfolded it. In an instant, he knew what it was.

"Hey, bro!

I'm just writing this letter to let u know I think your actually a really cool dude. Like, it would be better if u didnt have a complete bug up ur butt all the time, but anyway, I like u. I hope we can hang out more together. I can teach u how to spell normally and stuff like that.

Piece out.  
>Alfred"<p>

Sighing, Arthur let the letter drop to the ground. The paper rustled as it landed. Then silence consumed Arthur one more. He groaned, wishing the night would be over. Not that it made a difference. Even when the sun was shining, he missed the young lummox terribly.

There was a knock at the door. Arthur pulled himself out of his chair and traipsed down the hall to answer it. He hoped it wasn't Francis; he couldn't take his antics now. Grumbling, Arthur pulled the front door open.

Standing on his doorstep was the bespectacled blond in a bomber jacket. He was soaked through. His hair stuck to his face, save for that lone cowlick that was still somehow defying gravity. His glasses were fogged up and covered with beads of water, making Arthur wonder how Alfred could even see well enough to find his way up the path.

"Hey, bro!" Alfred said. He lunged forward, glomming onto Arthur and trapping him in a wet hug. Hiding his smile, Arthur wrapped his arms around Alfred in return.

"What brings you here, you dumb yank?"

Alfred cocked his head. A spray of water droplets leapt from his hair and landed on Arthur's sweater.

"I got lost on your weirdo reversed British road system," he said. "Can I stay over tonight?"

Alfred gestured to the stormy surroundings.  
>"It's raining," he explained.<p>

"Yes, I know it's raining," Arthur snapped. He pulled Alfred inside the house and closed the door behind him. With an exasperated sigh that was purely for show, Arthur gestured for Alfred to remove his wet jacket and shoes.

"So... uh... Does that mean I can stay?" Alfred asked. Arthur nodded. He forced himself to scowl.

"You need to behave yourself, though," Arthur said. "I was looking forward to a peaceful night. I trust you won't disturb that."

Alfred shrugged off his jacket and dropped it on top of the banister. He rolled his eyes. Then he looked around the cavernous house, which was much bigger than he'd remembered it.

"Whoa. It's quite a place you got here, dude."

"Yes."

"Don't you ever get lonely?"

Arthur scoffed. He had suddenly forgotten what loneliness felt like.


End file.
